We ran out of duty-free booze yesterday at the semis, which is probably a good thing cos I'm feeling slightly queazy with nerves. I don't know how the players and coaches cope! With the main game looming, I go for a little walk and bathroom break.
As bad as the nerves are I'd rather be here than watching at home. At home you feel completely powerless, you're at the whim of the cameraman and the television network. When you're at a game you can see the whole court, work out quicker what the umpire has called, participate in some small way (scream lungs out).
Today there isn't as much banter between the aussie and kiwi fans. I've had some funny conversations with kiwis on the train, in the line for the toilets, through the streets of Singa etc. We've been wishing each other good luck (but not too much!) over the past couple of days, but not today! Everyone is on edge.
The kiwis come out first for their warm up, and when the aussies come out it becomes clear that there is more crowd support for the aussies. The stands are a sea of gold interspersed kiwi sections dressed in black. We are in the last row of our section, which works out well, as the #blingiton sign won't block the view of anyone behind us. The section behind us seems to be general Singaporean public, apart from one very conspicuous row of good looking athletic men in matching aussie tshirts.
What is this mirage in the desert, we ask? We take guesses and settle on them being water polo players, and later we find out we were right! The Aussie Sharks (mens team) and Aussie Stingers (womens team) have their world championships in Shanghai next week and have come to Singa for a training camp. The womens team are playing a practice game that day, but the men had time to watch the Diamonds. Mel pretends to take a photo of Vin, but is really zooming in on the Sharks for a stealth photo. When we download the photo later we have a closer look and see that some of the boys have spotted Mel's poor disguise and are pointing and laughing.
As bad as the nerves are I'd rather be here than watching at home. At home you feel completely powerless, you're at the whim of the cameraman and the television network. When you're at a game you can see the whole court, work out quicker what the umpire has called, participate in some small way (scream lungs out).
Today there isn't as much banter between the aussie and kiwi fans. I've had some funny conversations with kiwis on the train, in the line for the toilets, through the streets of Singa etc. We've been wishing each other good luck (but not too much!) over the past couple of days, but not today! Everyone is on edge.
The kiwis come out first for their warm up, and when the aussies come out it becomes clear that there is more crowd support for the aussies. The stands are a sea of gold interspersed kiwi sections dressed in black. We are in the last row of our section, which works out well, as the #blingiton sign won't block the view of anyone behind us. The section behind us seems to be general Singaporean public, apart from one very conspicuous row of good looking athletic men in matching aussie tshirts.
What is this mirage in the desert, we ask? We take guesses and settle on them being water polo players, and later we find out we were right! The Aussie Sharks (mens team) and Aussie Stingers (womens team) have their world championships in Shanghai next week and have come to Singa for a training camp. The womens team are playing a practice game that day, but the men had time to watch the Diamonds. Mel pretends to take a photo of Vin, but is really zooming in on the Sharks for a stealth photo. When we download the photo later we have a closer look and see that some of the boys have spotted Mel's poor disguise and are pointing and laughing.
The warm up songs are played for both teams. First up the very catchy kiwi "Poi E" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQLUygS0IAQ) The kiwi sections are in full voice, and the song is so bloody catchy it gets stuck in my head. Soon it's our turn. The lilting opening sound of the musical beer bottles from Land Down Under by Men at Work (www.youtube.com/watch?v=McsWKczU6wc) lights up the aussies.
This is no time for cultural cringe. Sure, every time we've chanted Oi Oi Oi over the last couple of days we may have died a little inside, but today we need to be in full voice to get our girls over the line. Ahh who am I kidding, I love it!
Embracing inner bogans, we join the chorus and sing such gems as "he just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich", "where beer does flow and men chunder", and our favourite "you better run, you better take cover (yeaaah)" Champagne 80s aussie music! Followed up by the crowd's a capella version of Waltzing Matilda (first verse only). Blingiton sign is in full flight. We turn the sign around to the Singaporean crowd in the upper bays behind us and give them a rev up to get them on side. Excitement at fever pitch!
As the players begin to congregate near their benches to be introduced on court for the national anthems, a strange feeling of calm comes over me. It's weird, I can't explain it, I'm always nervous before watching Australia v New Zealand. On paper, New Zealand have all the experience and the combinations. They go into this favourites. But somehow I have this feeling that today is our day.
I never have this feeling! Perhaps I'm just trying to delude myself so that I'm not carried out of here with heart attack symptoms. Maybe it's endorphins and adrenaline from singing and waving the sign about. Considering I was nervous as hell about 10 minutes ago, this is very odd! I write it off as denial about the heart-attack-inducing struggle that I expect is about to take place.
If you're superstitious, you look for signs that your team is going to win. Apparently there's a greyhound called Bling It On that raced on Thursday and was running second for three quarters of the race, but went on to finish strongly and win it. There's our lucky tshirts, lucky sign, lucky diamond necklaces (they haven't lost whilst we've been wearing them!) There's the recent match result history between the two teams - for the last eight matches the winner has alternated Aus, NZ, Aus, NZ, Aus, NZ, Aus, NZ... it's our turn!
The players are called out on court, kiwis first, aussies second. We cheer loudly for every aussie, even the team physio. Lining up for the national anthems. Kiwis first again. The NZ anthem is so long I debate whether I have time to go get a beer. Just kidding. Respectfully stand to attention and listen. It's another one of those catchy songs, often gets stuck in my head for days after watching an Aus v NZ test match.
Finally time for ours. The huge aussie contingent sing, no, shout the anthem and it's pandemonium at the end, huge roar from the crowd as the players begin to assemble for the match. Here we go!!!
Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah / Getty Images AsiaPac
No comments:
Post a Comment